Reflex enhancing punching and kicking apparatus

ABSTRACT

A martial arts practice apparatus is described which is comprised of a punching and kicking pad secured by spring loaded connectors to a board to which is also attached a timing light that blinks intermittently at irregular intervals. The board is rigidly connected to a wall. The user of the apparatus practices punching and or kicking the pad each time and as soon as the timing light blinks on. Such practice improves the user&#39;s martial arts punching and kicking reflexes. The punching and kicking pad may also be used without the timing light being turned on.

[0001] This invention is referred to in Disclosure Document Number 522180 filed in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Nov. 25, 2002.

[0002] This invention fits into the general category of sports equipment. More specifically, this invention fits into the category of martial arts equipment. In particular, this invention is an apparatus for enhancing quick punching and kicking reflexes in the martial arts such as karate and boxing.

[0003] Apparatus for the practice of boxing, punching, and kicking in the martial arts include punching bags that hang from a ceiling and also stationary punching and kicking bags that sit on a floor. There also exist punching and kicking bags with handles that one person holds while another person practices punching or kicking the held bag.

[0004] The invention presented here is related to such prior art in that this invention has a punching and kicking pad rather than a bag. However, this pad absorbs the force of a punch or kick by the compression of strong springs that attach the pad to a stationary board which in turn is attached to a wall. This invention also possesses an intermittent irregular timing light which encourages quick reflex punching or kicking if the user regulary practices punching or kicking the pad as soon as possible each time the light turns on. The timing light is attached to the stationary board of the apparatus just above the punching and kicking pad.

[0005] The present invention is shown in the accompanying drawings.

[0006]FIG. 1 shows a face view of the reflex enhancing punching and kicking apparatus.

[0007]FIG. 2 shows a side view of the apparatus with a cross section view of the pad itself.

[0008]FIG. 3 shows a coaxial view of one of the spring connectors that connect the pad to the stationary board of the apparatus.

[0009]FIG. 4 shows a side view of one of the spring connectors.

[0010]FIG. 5 shows a cross section view of the timing light the is attached to the stationary board just above the punching and kicking pad.

[0011] Looking at all of the drawing figures simultaneously, it is seen that this punching and kicking apparatus 11 possesses a stationary board 12, preferably made of wood, to which is attached a punching and kicking pad 13. The pad itself 13 is made of three parts: a board 14, preferably made of wood, an exterior fabric 15, preferably made of vinyl, and coarse thread stuffing 16 of the type used by furniture upholsterers. The stuffing 16 which is packed firmly between the board 14 and the exterior fabric 15 is held in place by vrute of the exterior fabric 15 being stapled with wood staples to the back (i.e. right side) of the board 14.

[0012] The punching and kicking pad 13 is connected to the stationary board 12 by four spring loaded connectors 17, 18, 19, and 20. Although a number of different types of spring loaded connectors can be used to connect the punching and kicking pad 13 to the stationary board 12, the type of spring loaded connector shown here is the simplest type of spring loaded connector and therefore preferable.

[0013] As shown in detail in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, each spring loaded connector has two square metal plates 22 and 29 which are welded to the ends 37 and 38 of the spring 26. The end plates 22 and 29 each have four holes 31, 32, 33, and 34 at their corners (holes 35 and 36 also are shown), by which the spring loaded connectors 17, 18, 19, and 20 are rigidly connected to the back board 14 of the pad 13 and the stationary board 12 with thirty two wood screws. The four springs 25, 26, 27, and 28 are preferably strong steel springs with a compression force of 300 pounds, an uncompressed length of 5 inches, and a diameter width of 1{fraction (1/2)} inches.

[0014] Above the punching and kicking pad 13, attached to the stationary board 12 is the timing light 39. The timing light 39 posseses a casing 40, a lense 41, a 120-volt AC electrical cord 42 and wall socket plug 43, an on-off toggle switch 44, a reflector 45, a light bulb socket 46, and a 120-volt AC 7-watt E76285 lightbulb 47. The timing light housing 40 is secured to the stationary board 12 with either nails, screws, or glue. The E76285 lightbulb 47 is a light bulb which turns on and off intermittently at irregular intervals with an average time of approximately one second between successive blinks. This type of lightbulb is currently being used in blinking toy traffic lights that can be found in various retail stores. The lightbulb 47 must turned on and warmed up for a minute or two before its starts blinking.

[0015] Although this punching and kicking apparatus 11 can be-made in various sixes and dimension, the optimal length and width of the stationary board 12 are 72 inches long and 17 inches wide.

[0016] Before the appparatus 11 can be used, it must be mounted firmly against a wall. For this purpose, the stationary board 12 is either nailed or screwed to a wall so that the nails or screws become embedded in the studs behind the plasterboard of the wall. Standard wall studs are usually 16 inches apart and can be located with a stud finder.

[0017] To practice punching and kicking without the timing light, the user simply punches and kicks the pad 13 at will. To practice punching and kicking with the timing light, the timing light 39 is turned on and the user practices punching and kicking the pad 13 as fast as possible every time as soon as the light 39 blinks on. After considerable time practicing punching and kicking the pad 13 in conjunction with the timing light 39, the user will notice that his martial arts punching and kicking reflexes are noticeably enhanced.

[0018] Although the best mode of practicing this invention known to the inventor is shown in the drawing figures and described as above, the inventor wishes to point out that the drawing figures also inherently disclose one or more simpler variants of the invention disclosed above. For example, the simplest variant of this invention is simply for the punching and kicking pad 13 to be connected directly to a wall by the spring connectors 17, 18, 19, and 20 where the upper connector and lower connector pairs are 16 inches apart so that the connectors can be screwed into wall studs. Also, in this vein, the timing light 39, which can be optional, need not be physically connected to the punching and kicking pad 13 by virtue of being attached to the pad 13 via by being attached to a stationary board 12. Also, the stationary board 12 may not be one piece as shown but might be broken up into more than one piece, each piece of which in turn is secured to wall studs with nails or wood screws. Even without a timing light, the practice by the user solely with the punching and kicking pad 13 will improve the user's reflexes. However, use of the pad 13 with the blinking light 39 improves the user's reflexes in a more efficient manner. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A punching and kicking pad which is secured by spring loaded connectors to wall.
 2. A punching and kicking pad which is secured by spring loaded connectors to a board which in turn is rigidly attached to a wall.
 3. A punching and kicking pad as described in claim 1 in combination with a timing light.
 4. A punching and kicking pad as described in claim 2 in combination with a timing light.
 5. A punching and kicking pad in combination with a timing light as described in claim 3 wherein the timing light blinks intermittently.
 6. A punching and kicking pad in combination with a timing light as described in claim 4 wherein the timing light blinks intermittently.
 7. A punching and kicking pad in combination with a timing light as described in claim 5 wherein the timing light blinks intermittently at irregular intervals.
 8. A punching and kicking pad in combination with a timing light as described in claim 6 wherein the timing light blinks intermittently at irregular intervals.
 9. A punching and kicking pad in combination with a timing light as described in claim 4 wherein the pad and light are attached to the same said board.
 10. A punching and kicking pad in combination with a timing light as described in claim 6 wherein the pad and light are attached to the same said board.
 11. A punching and kicking pad in combination with a timing light as described in claim 8 wherein the pad and light are attached to the same said board. 